


Hers

by LiinHaglund



Series: Possessive Pronouns [4]
Category: Thor (Movies)
Genre: Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Alien Culture, Alternate Universe, Asgard (Marvel), Canon? What Canon?, Explicit Language, Explicit Sexual Content, Guerrilla Warfare, Jotunn | Frost Giant, Jötunheimr | Jotunheim, Jötunn Loki, M/M, Magic, Magic-Users, Out of Character, Ragnarok, Svartálfaheimr | Svartalfheim, Svartálfar | Svartalfar | Black Elves, Trolls, Vanaheimr | Vanaheim, War, Álfheimr | Alfheim
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-30
Updated: 2018-07-07
Packaged: 2018-08-11 23:43:11
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 20
Words: 18,117
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7912117
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LiinHaglund/pseuds/LiinHaglund
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>If it is war the Jotun dogs want, then war is what Odin will give them. Svartalfheim will stand with him, or fall a second time. He is secure in the strength of his golden army, confident in his ability to lead.  Since Bor defeated the Dark Elves no one has defeated Asgard in battle. </p><p>Farbauti, whose very name means 'cruel killer', was little more than a child during the last war. It was never her pretty face nor her slender figure that made her Queen, it was her ruthless military genius that first made Laufey notice her and raise her up above even himself. </p><p>Alflyse, for all her womanly charms, rules a people who are notorious for only respecting the strongest and the most fearsome. Those who believe she cannot command the armies of Svartalfheim are in for a rude awakening. </p><p>The Nine Realms of Yggdrasil have pledged their allegiances. The stage is set. Losing is not an option.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Celebration Of The Two Moons

**Author's Note:**

> This is part four, if you haven't read the rest you might wanna do that first.
> 
> Updates are currently slow because I have to edit the earlier parts to match the plot (ie filling in them plot holes) and because I have a full time job with a long commute. It sucks for you, it sucks for me, but such is life.

The festivities came as a welcome distraction. As much as Loki enjoyed the respite from worrying over when Asgard was going to ask for his head – he could not quite stop worrying that Asgard would ask for his head. Or about how Farbauti was obviously gearing up for war, but seemed to wait for something. What was beyond him. Jotunheim's armies were so ready for war it was borderline ridiculous not to proclaim one.

The Celebration of the Two Moons started calmly enough with Farbauti and Laufey making two marriages official. While the moons were siblings in folklore, the celebration had evolved into a lover's festival.

Loki soon learned that quiet celebrations on Jotunheim did in no way exclude fights. He saw a lot of people fight over partners. It was an event in an of itself, with a hastily made arena as the battlefield. They were organized enough that no brawls happened and everyone waited their turn. Hailstrum stood closest to the fighters, ready to break them up if anyone disobeyed the rules. Loki had no idea what those rules were, but he figured he could ask someone later.

“What if the person they're fighting over prefers the loser?” Loki asked.

“Why would they?” Byleist scoffed.

“Maybe they like them better.”

“Then there would be no point to fight.” Byleist gave him an odd look.

“He is right, the fights happen when the intended is either indifferent or have a hard time deciding,” Farbauti cut in. “Sometimes fights happen if a person feels a pairing is unhealthy and they would take better care of the weaker part.”

Two women were fighting each other over a man, before that two men had fought over another man. Loki sort of liked to watch the different battle techniques.

The crowd was boisterous, but subdued compared to Asgard.

Two young boys came up next, and furiously fought to get the attention of a girl their age. The winner looked stricken when the girl seemed less than impressed.

“Ouch,” Loki commented.

The next fight he ignored in favor of braiding Byleist's hair to get it out of his brother's face. It was for some reason unheard of to allow your hair to just fall straight if you had any. Loki was still not very good at braiding, but he was learning. Besides, Byleist usually just wanted someone to touch him when he asked.

Just as he tied off the last braid he felt his own hair being pulled on and when his head bent back enough Helblindi's mouth was on his own. It turned into a slow kiss, which turned into a few bites, and then it turned into a kiss again.

“Come,” Helblindi said.

Loki followed him to where a large open area was dedicated to various food stands. There was a lot of odd foods and drinks available during the celebration. Loki had at long last figured out Laufey's tax system and realized that taxes were only used to benefit the people. They paid nothing when they visited healers, because all healers got paid by the crown. Food in Utgard was always free to everyone, and those who had traveled from afar to offer their culinary skills were already compensated. A bit weird, but then again Loki never noticed anyone complain. It explained the lack of a proper nobility. No one could get rich on collecting taxes on Jotunheim.

“Was there ever nobility here?” he asked Helblindi while they walked through the masses.

“Yes, before the war,” Helblindi said quietly, as if it was painful to remember.

“Why are there none now?”

“There nearly was no King. Laufey almost gave up everything to grieve. Most of our cities were leveled to the ground, only Thrymheim remains intact enough to be livable above ground. There were dead everywhere. People went to what relatives they had left. No one wanted to rebuild a faulty system, no one wanted to profit over their own kind.”

They were quiet for a while. Loki tried to picture it, and he supposed Helblindi tried not to.

“Would you call me a coward if I said I would rather not have another war?” Loki asked.

“No one sane truly wants war, and I agree, so no,” Helblindi said. “Want some wine?”

“No.” Jotunheim produced two kinds of alcohol. One was a strong enough brew that it got even the biggest drunk on a few cups, it had a strong taste of alcohol mixed with some sweet herb that was likely to kill lesser beings. Loki had only been allowed one small sip once and it had still taken his body hours to burn through it. The other was a kind of wine that did little to effect a fully grown adult. It tasted sweet and spicy. The mead favored in Asgard and the elven wines were available but not popular.

Helblindi followed his nose to a stand selling cured meats of various kinds. The vendor gave them plates filled with a little bit of everything.

“This is good,” Loki said.

“Father said you like salt,” Helblindi said.

“I love salt.” Loki stuffed more into his mouth.

The vendor grinned and handed him a new plate when he finished. Helblindi meanwhile was already washing his hands.

Helblindi was not a big eater, not like Laufey, but then Loki had noted that those who lacked magic often ate a lot less. Thor and Volstagg not included.

“How do you eat that? Is it raw?” a familiar voice asked. Loki spun around and saw Thor arm in arm with Alflyse.

“ _You_ have _no_ taste buds,” Loki scoffed. “This is delicious. Try some!”

“Agreed,” Alflyse said. “He eats meat that's so charred it's nearly coal.”

Thor made a face. “Well you eat it half-cooked and with no spices.”

“So, how is married life?” Loki asked Thor sweetly between the last bites of what had to be salmon or some other type of fish. “Got her bred yet?” Thor blushed, Alflyse rolled her eyes. “No, then.”

“Not yet,” Thor admitted, still blushing. “We are... trying.”

Loki handed the empty plate back and washed his hands.

“My second mother got pregnant so quick I swear the healer did not believe her,” Helblindi said.

“Laufey has two wives?” Thor asked.

Loki snickered, remembering that he had made the same assumption once. It felt like a lifetime ago when he had thought himself to be an Aesir prince, but only a couple of years had passed. Life had changed so much, so quickly.

“No. Loki's second mother is Frigga. My second mother is Farbauti. She did not give birth to me, but she is still my mother,” Helblindi said, voice more clipped than when he had explained it to Loki.

“Can you have a third and fourth?” Thor asked.

“Yes.”

“How far up could it go?”

“How far can you count?” Helblindi asked with a slight challenge in his voice.

Loki laid a hand on Helblindi's arm. He did not want a fight on his hands. Thankfully, Alflyse noticed and dragged Thor off with demands to try some wine.

“You should be nicer. He is my brother as well.”

“Yours, not mine,” Helblindi muttered.

“His heart is in the right place. Usually. Is there anything else we should do?”

Helblindi kissed him. “See anything interesting?”

Loki dragged him over to an old woman who made some kind of flatbread and some kind of spheres cooked in steam. A loud bang made Loki jump before they had gotten there, he saw everyone look up to the sky where a rather spectacular light show played out. Glittering particles burned against some sort of barrier and auroras rippled around the center.

“That is the Bifrost,” Loki said. If it had touched down it would have landed on their heads, literally. He had never felt fearful of the Bifrost before, even with the knowledge that it was not harmless, but Asgard was no longer his home and the majority of the people there hated Jotunheim.

They heard Laufey laugh and turned to where he was walking toward them. “One of Malekith's old inventions. A shield that makes the Aesir's Bifrost backfire on itself. I rather _like it_.”

“Are we at war?” Loki asked.

Laufey grinned toothily with his eyes on the sky. “Well, if we were not already, we certainly are now. No one is permitted to mess with their little portal gun. A bit slower to respond than I expected.”

“Did we seriously just wait around for Odin to declare war?”

“Yes,” Laufey confirmed.

“Did we not kind of start the war already?”

“Prove it,” Laufey smirked, still much too cheerful considering what was happening.

“What is the plan?” Helblindi asked, looking more defeated than excited.

“The plan, dear sons, is that you two stay put and let the adults handle this. Byleist and Skadi are Loki's responsibilities. Internal matters, yours,” Laufey grabbed Helblindi's shoulder, “anything pertaining to war, back off.”

“I can fly,” Loki said.

Laufey grabbed his shoulder with his free hand. “You can, but you will not. Your siblings need you more than the army does.”

“Same as last time, then,” Helblindi surmised.

“If you surrender this time I will have your head,” Farbauti said in a dead serious voice. Loki suspected she would too.

“Do not test her on that,” Laufey advised unnecessarily. “We are not as vulnerable to their tactics as we were then. I cannot always be there to save you.”

Byleist walked up to Loki with a crying Skadi in his arms. “She wants you.”

Loki took her and held her. She had gotten a lot more chubby since she her birth. More normal, Loki supposed. He shushed her, held her close and felt her calm down. It calmed him down too to feel that she was alright.

Alflyse and Thor came towards them, as did a lot of the nearby people.

“All is well,” Laufey waved away the concern of the gathering civilians. “Have a drink, eat some food, you are protected. Let us and the army deal with this.”

“What happened? Was that the Bifrost?” Thor asked.

Farbauti nodded to Alflyse and the Dark Elf smirked.

“What fell deed have you committed now?” Thor asked Laufey.

“That, my dear husband, was Odin challenging us to a battle,” Alflyse said gleefully. “Had he succeeded in what he no doubt planned he would have slaughtered everyone in the area. You and Loki included.”

Laufey smirked. “You might want to reconsider your view of reality if you are too dumb to see beyond the black and white of childhood. War is not about good and evil, dark or light, it is merely a fight. My reasons for fighting Asgard are numerous, and if you were not important to one of my sons I would have you executed as a way to rile the troops up. It has been far too long since they were blooded.”

Thor looked like he wanted to argue.

“I will kill you myself if you try anything,” Alflyse said pleasantly, as if discussing what wine to try next.

The tense moment was broken by a youth, perhaps a century older than Loki and Thor, running to Alflyse to make sure she was alright. He looked more elven than Farbauti, shorter, but clearly of mixed blood. Loki did not get a good look at his face, he was passed him too quickly.

“You bring him here and I get no hug?” Laufey complained.

Alflyse grinned. “I believe we agreed he was all mine.”

“We have another sibling?” Loki guessed.

“Half,” Helblindi shrugged.

“Our half-siblings are family too,” Loki said, and he meant that.

Laufey had lifted the boy up. “There will be no escaping hugs.”

“His name is Mirka,” Byleist supplied.

“Mirka?” Loki said, dumbfounded. He gave Skadi to Farbauti and shifted to his Aesir shape. “Mirka!” he yelled. “You little shit!”

“You two have met?” Alflyse asked.

Loki crossed his arms over his chest.

Mirka looked at him like he had seen a ghost.

“It is a... long story,” Loki said with narrowed eyes.

“I, for one, would like to hear it,” Laufey said, looking between them. He sat Mirka down on the ground.

“It was about sixty or so years ago, when the trolls were having a meeting. Adult trolls never meet very often, they like to send their copious amount of young with errands. Fetch this. Get me that. A meeting is a grand event and the trolls wanted other beings to attend.”

When Skadi whined Loki shifted back and took her. “Their youngsters kidnapped a few – Mirka, me, some mortals, some peasant from Vanaheim – and we had to sit through this retarded bunch of brutes having a meeting. Once done with their meeting they herded us to portals and considered their duty done.”

“Except they were the wrong portals,” Mirka said.

“ _Of course_ they were,” Loki scoffed. “They were trolls, after all. What did you expect?”

Mirka glared at him.

“So, the elf here,” Loki waved a hand in Mirka's direction, “ended up outside Yggdrasil. Me, I ended up in Vanaheim. No great loss on my part, in fact I found it to be a decently good joke and told the troll younglings they were excellent tricksters. However, a Dark Elf in Asgard would have been a bit hazardous. So I went back through the portal and through the one they had thrown Mirka into.”

“It wasn't Asgard,” Mirka muttered.

“No, and in the – was it an hour?” Mirka refused to answer despite Loki looking imploringly at him. “Let's say an hour. In the hour it had taken me to negotiate with the trolls to be able to switch portals, Mirka had gotten himself captured by slavers and sold to a brothel. It took me half a day to find that tidbit of information. Local time. Probably a week by Asgard's measure.”

“This is a good story,” Thor said, and by some good grace he missed Alflyse's glare completely.

“Oh, this is not the end. See, troll magic works differently. Specifically, their spells are short in duration, but generally somewhat powerful. So we have no way back. Deciding to do a good deed I, graciously, paid the brothel owner to have Mirka as my personal slave instead.”

“Graciously,” Mirka echoed in a dull voice.

“Considering your... condition,” Loki painted a bloated belly with his hand over his own midsection, “I would say I was downright overpaying. Having now saved the fair... maiden... there still was the issue of getting the fuck away from our current location. Then, like a bolt of lightning from a clear blue sky, came The Circus.”

Laufey and Mirka both rubbed a hand over their faces, in tandem, which was a bit amusing.

“Did you negotiate for a fare?” Alflyse asked.

Loki laughed. “The God of Lies? The Dark Prince of Asgard? Buying fare like an honest person? No. I sneaked us into the cargo bay. It went swimmingly for three stops until we were caught. We were promptly taken to the big ugly, tentacled thing they call their boss and asked to explain ourselves in none too polite tones. Whereupon this lump of tentacles screeches – I'm thinking we're in deep trouble – but then it starts screaming in actual words. It was not very coherent but I made out something about amputation of limbs and princes and how the thing was not allowing this to happen again.”

“And?” Thor asked impatiently.

“It took a detour and dropped us off on Alfheim when I told it to. Gone before anyone noticed. Feet once again on solid ground Mirka promptly went into labor and delivered a healthy...”

“Shut up!” Mirka hissed.

“I never heard of this,” Alflyse said, aghast.

“Well, if you want to meet you grandchild it currently resides with Frida Featherwine. Likes to hide in the lake behind her house.”

“The snake?” Farbauti asked.

“It is more of an intestinal parasite, really, but I suppose it _does_ look like a big snake now that it is in a new stage of its life cycle. Frida put a few spells on it and keeps it as a pet. It likes eating cattle.”

“I will have to see this beast,” Thor said, now in good spirit.

 

* * *

 

Despite all the commotion, Loki slept well. It was not until breakfast that he realized that Laufey and Farbauti were briefing Helblindi not because he would be in charge that night, but because they were leaving within a few nights.

It would be unfair to be clingy, he doubted they truly wanted to leave. The war needed to happen, at least in their minds, so there was no way around it. He understood how they reasoned, but that did not make him agree or like it.

Skadi was attempting to eat mashed up fruit with her fingers.

“Loki? Do I bring Skadi or will you take her?” Farbauti asked.

Byleist obviously realized his parents were leaving too because he started crying.

“Will she be in danger? Will she slow you down? I can look after her, I think. I just know very little about raising children,” Loki said.

Farbauti shrugged. “Babies need milk and love.”

“You make it sound so simple.”

Laufey muttered something that made Farbauti smack him on the shoulder.

 

* * *

 

Loki burrowed as deep into the nest as he could, which was surprisingly deep.

“One of those nights?” Laufey asked.

Loki shrugged.

Laufey curled up around him. One of the guards entered, but Laufey waved him off. “Go bother Helblindi if you have to bother someone.”

“There is no need to stay on my account,” Loki said quietly once the guard was gone.

“I think you somehow got confused about what is and what is not important,” Laufey hummed. “Not sure how to get it into your head either.”

“What is in my head is that Odin would never had said a peep if I had not learned on my own, and if that had happened I _would_ be fighting. For Asgard. They have no policy about hiding nearly grown children away.”

Laufey made a humming noise and shifted so that they were facing one another. “You would have died.”

There was no doubt or hesitation. Was Asgard that weak? Was Jotunheim that mighty? Was Laufey confident or over-confident? Loki had no way to know and it vexed him. He knew Asgard inside out, but Jotunheim kept its secrets close and even though he was not restricted he could not find the numbers he would have needed to know for sure who would win the war.

“You would have died, Odin would certainly have died, and the glamour would have fallen away.” Laufey traced a line on Loki's face. “I doubt I would have taken that very well.”

“I have no idea how you and Farbauti do that.”

“Do what?”

“Just ignore centuries and... love.”

“We always loved you. It never starts or stops, it always just is.”

“Except that was never true,” Loki murmured as he buried his face to hide himself, “not when I grew up. I was never good enough, strong enough. I always had to fight to keep up, and even then it hardly ever made a difference. Then I get kidnapped by a bunch of crazy giants who insist all I ever have to do is, well, nothing.”

“I'm pretty sure we force you to eat,” Laufey said gently, almost joking.

“And now I might lose you.”

“You know, every time you tell us things like this we just want to crush Asgard all the more thoroughly.”

Loki sighed dejectedly.

“If it makes any difference to you, we would not have done this if we were not sure of our success. We both very much want to come home in one piece at the end of it.”

“Why do you have to do it though?”

“What do you suppose will happen if we did nothing?” Laufey asked.

Loki sighed. “Odin would never let you get away with embarrassing him in his own courtroom.”

“And?”

“There would be a war either way at some point.”

 

 


	2. War Council

Thor followed Alflyse back to Svartalfheim soon after the incident on Jotunheim. A council of some sort was already summoned and while Thor was allowed in the room it was clear, as it always was among the Dark Elves, that he had no real say. He didn't particularly enjoy being on the sidelines. It had been different before he had been captured on Jotunheim.

Alflyse's bastard son sat beside him. He was a little older than Thor, but he was taller. Probably his Jotun heritage. That much was obvious from the patchy skin which seemed a poor blend between Frost Giant and Dark Elf. He was not handsome by any standards Thor knew. Less so when considering Loki's story.

“Asgard has attacked our allies,” one elderly Dark Elf stated in a tone that was pure matter-of-fact.

“Laufey's defenses are holding admirably,” Alflyse assured calmly. “There were no casualties, not even any real panic. The people trust him, as they trust their Queen, to do what is best for them. Without his spellwork however, Utgard would have been obliterated and its people dead. Including myself as I was present for the Moon celebration. There is good hope that the spell protecting us will prove similarly successful, considering Laufey set ours up as well.”

“Odin's emissary has requested our... compliance,” another old elf stated with a sneer. “We were unsure...”

“Of course he did. I would expect nothing less. However, I ask that you all remember that we owe Asgard _nothing_ ,” Alflyse said tersely. “We owe Laufey, and has owed him for centuries, but Asgard has no hold over us. They did nothing when our people starved, they did nothing when our people were forced into centuries of civil war by pigheaded noble houses, they did nothing then and they have not since. If Laufey had not helped us we would have died out by now. What Odin wants is of no great concern to me, but we could use his request to further our own goals.”

Predictably all eyes went to Thor.

“You are, of course, free to return to your family. I will not force you to go against them,” Alflyse told Thor.

“I will not return,” Thor said quietly, though it tore at his heart to make the decision. Odin would want him here, to keep the elves in line, not in Asgard. Loki – who was a far better ally of late – would see his return to Asgard as betrayal, and so the only real option was to stay where he was. “I will not fight my brother. Either of them, if at all possible.”

Alflyse gave him a nod, but looked far from convinced. There was no real affection between them yet. He supposed it had taken Frigga and Odin time as well.

“Will the High Queen go to war now?” a scarred elf asked.

“Farbauti has ordered us not to attack... _yet_. Send a message to Asgard that we are sending troops into their territory. Make it neutral, anything too friendly will seem suspicious as we are not exactly old friends. We will strike them from behind.”

“As Laufey did the Vanir?”

“For all his faults and flaws, Laufey is far from stupid,” Alflyse smirked. “And now that Farbauti has been crowned there will be less play and more serious attacks. She does not treat a war like a game and will not risk lives for a brief bit of amusement.”

Thor conceded her point. “Asgard has defeated both Svartalfheim and Jotunheim in the past,” he said anyway.

“Striking without warning, when neither of us were prepared for war, and taking what was never theirs to take,” one of the elders spoke. “Malekith was not a good ruler, make no mistake there, but we would rather serve him than the Aesir.”

“Bor had more reason to attack us than Odin had to attack Jotunheim,” Alflyse said, her sharp nails clicking against the polished tabletop. There was a delicate gold pattern painted on them. Her body was often subtly decorated. “The final days of the empire were far from benign, but the stories told elsewhere of what transpired are mostly false. Malekith had no interest in destroying Yggdrasil.” She looked Thor in the eyes, held his gaze. “He sought to destroy only the Realm Eternal. The cursed light that back then shone brighter than it does today. The night itself turned to day.”

“Are the people free to travel to Jotunheim, mother?” Alflyse's son asked.

“Yes, as long as there is no fighting done on our own realms, passages and the usual ship lanes for trade will remain open.” Alflyse nodded. “It will be necessary to keep our food supply from running out. What else have we to discuss?”

 

* * *

 

Thor saw Alflyse off when she left. On Asgard he would have been regent if his parents had been unavailable, but on Svartalfheim he had no political power. Rather than King, he was the Queen's Consort.

Apart from Alflyse he knew very few people, and none of them closely.

It did nothing to help him that he could not speak their language, even though he had been assigned to a tutor. It was slow work and he was not particularly gifted at languages.

 

 


	3. Elves Make Poor Allies

“How fares Alfheim?” Odin asked his council of advisors. He looked out over the busy evening city. Everyone was hurrying home, or to meet friends at a tavern, or to buy something before the shops closed.

Alfheim had always been doubly busy, but recently it had been impossible to trade with the elves.

“Not well,” Njord answered. “We have been forced to remove Tyr.”

“What for?” Odin asked.

“Three quarters of the population gone, Vanaheim worries they will be next, the dwarves have stopped all trade with us temporarily,” Njord rattled off. “Need I _really_ go on? Tyr has made a mess of things. Jotunheim is on the rise and we don't have the time for messes.”

“What did Thor do when he was there before the wedding?” Odin asked.

“No idea. Say what you will of Loki, but he could have made a difference. Not only does he speak their language fluently, they often confided in him.”

“Queen Alflyse expressed concern over the fact that refugees are flooding her borders,” a young noble spoke up. Odin thought he might have been one of Loki's playthings once.

“Did she get my message?” Odin asked, directing the conversation to more important things. The last thing he wanted to talk about was Laufey's son.

“They will send ships.”

At least someone was doing what they were supposed to then. “How much power would you say Thor has within her court?”

The young man sighed. “Honestly? None.”

“Surely the army favors him?” Odin asked.

“The general consensus in the court is that he is Alflyse's plaything. A trophy. The generals find it amusing, though what the lower ranks think I know not. Foreign delegations are kept under a very close watch. Laufey's son has more political power.”

“Loki?”

“No, Alflyse's son. She had a child with Laufey right around when she became Queen. I wrote it in the report you got before the wedding, along with the fact that she and Farbauti are sisters, sharing the same father.”

Njord sighed and rubbed his face. “This is _not_ happening.”

Odin tried to remember if he had read the report, or if he had placed it in the pile of things he would need to read at some point in time. Probably the latter. He would have remembered reading such an important detail as the two girls being related. “Why is Laufey not married to Alflyse, then?”

“As I hear it,” the young man said, “Laufey is not known for being _chaste_.”

“My Lord?” Amora spoke up. She had never been Odin's favorite, but with Loki gone he had needed another strong mage whom he could trust.

“Speak.”

The blond woman did not speak, she smirked, and produced an item from the folds of her dress.

“Is that?”

She nodded. “Yes, this was in the Vault. I tracked it down on Muspelheim.”

 

* * *

 

At first it had seemed as if though the Dark Elves had complied with his request for aid, but it soon became apparent that Queen Alflyse had no interest in being obedient. Her ships had stopped by one of Asgard's many small satellite worlds – and immediately attacked. At the same time the Golden Army clashed with Laufey's troops in remote areas in the other end of Asgard's territory. A two front war was the least desirable outcome, but Odin had faith in his defenses.

There was no honor in the way the Jotuns fought – never had been, for that matter. They used magic and trickery to surprise the soldiers and strike from behind when they could. Asgard lost several small worlds and colonies as the war spread to all the three realms under Odin's control, but those were largely insignificant. The threat was still far away and moving slow.

“It worries me that they have yet to mobilize their entire force,” Njord said. “The coat of arms painted on the ships is similar to Ice's.”

“I imagine Laufey is a descendant.”

“I am tempted to argue he is one of her children. During peace negotiations at the end of the last war he snarled at his son that surrendering should never be an option. That was one of Ice's favorite sayings.”

“That was rather amusing, now that you mention it. We were so sure Helblindi _was_ Laufey that when he showed up it was like seeing double.”

Njord chuckled. “Aye, and Helblindi looked afraid for the first time that we had seen. Not that I blame him. Dear Norns, but Laufey was furious. If we hadn't had guards in there he would have killed everyone, his son included.”

“They're uncultured beasts. Let them tire themselves out,” Odin said. “They are far from home, spread out, and they only have so many soldiers.”

“There should be more,” Njord said warily. “They have to have more troops than this.”

“I imagine some are protecting Jotunheim,” Odin dismissed.

“And if that is not all? Thor reported their alliance with Svartalfheim gave them access to ships. If the two Queens are sister...”

“They have gone back to living in caves like savages, I doubt the Dark Elves would give them ships out of the kindness of their hearts.” Odin stroked his beard. “There is nothing of interest on Jotunheim. Pearls and ivory aside, they would not have enough to buy many ships.”

“What of metals?” Njord pressed.

“Not that I am aware of, no. They will be pressed for resources and given how expensive a war on this scale is, I do not predict they will be able to last very long if we drag it out. Svartalfheim has very little reserves as well since they up until recently were in a civil war. This will be over relatively quick. When they show signs of weakness we will take the fight to them.”

Njord nodded. “Very well.”

“The most pressing is finding what was stolen from the vault. I assume they did it, but nothing has since been used.”

“Amora is slow to track them down.”

“She has a big task, one you could not accomplish. I only hope Jotunheim's plan was not to allow them to go back to their original owners. Thanos is still hoping to impress Hela, and so far she will have none of it.”

“What of Hela? Could she aid us?” Njord asked.

“If we serve up my head on a platter she just might. Not terms I am willing to meet.”

 

 


	4. Battle Plans

Life on the ships was cramped, but the soldiers were cheerful. Most had never seen the vast blackness of space, or the rest of Yggdrasil, and the youngest were infinitely curious. Farbauti had so far only had to slap a few of the captains into doing their duties.

“We should go over the strategy,” she told Alflyse once the other woman was on board.

“Where is Laufey?” Alflyse asked as she sat down by the table. They used a small room on the biggest ship for planning the assault.

“Removing some of Asgard's eyes and ears, while keeping an eye on Surtur. I considered letting him go back home alone, my kids all prefer him anyway. Well, except for Byleist.”

Farbauti knew Muspelheim would be slow to join their efforts, and nearly useless. Surtur was a war monger, but he had little to offer apart from himself and his elite force. In a way, she was glad Loki had the sense not to follow orders blindly. Surtur did not need anything to hold over their heads, and the Casket would have been just that.

It mattered little in the end, she would make do with what she had and trusted in.

“I think Skadi prefers Loki over either of you,” Alflyse pointed out.

“Ah, Loki. He took it badly.”

“It must be hard on him, even if he remembers nothing of being taken it is a very defining thing about his life. At times Thor is very stubborn. The Council thinks he has been drilled to think a certain way by his parents, much like I assume Loki was. He repeats things he does not otherwise believe in.”

“So he should remain Consort,” Farbauti concluded.

“I shudder to think what he would do given half the chance to rule.”

Farbauti smirked. “Well, we have Helblindi, but I wonder for how long.”

“Has he tired of it?”

Farbauti nodded. “After the war I have to do something about his position in court. He is ever growing more vocal on not wanting to rule. I think the fact that he and Loki are courting each other has made him think ahead more.”

“He has been in Laufey's shadow a long time.”

Farbauti nodded. “Helblindi is my guilty conscience to be honest. He is the sweetest person and he does not deserve all the shit he has gotten from us.”

“You mean after the last war.”

“Before, during, after.” Farbauti shook her head. “It really took until we had Byleist for us to realize we were not treating him right, and it took until we had Loki back to really see Helblindi as a person. Mostly because Loki has been so focused on him.”

“I never liked how he treats his siblings. Including Mirka.”

“I know, and I agree. Never been a problem with the nestlings, but he will not even talk to Varg. Anyway. Let us get to business.”

“Are we beginning with Vanaheim?”

“Loki hinted that taking Alfheim should be a priority.”

“Sentimentality, I assume. Strategically not wise.”

“It will be a quick victory.”

“They _are_ weakened, but we would need to hold the realm while we fight Vanaheim and Asgard. It would weaken our force to stretch them that thin.”

“Certainly. It will, however, be a good place to tuck away the troublesome Light Elves.” Farbauti tapped her fingers on the table, her claws clacking on the hard surface. “Vanaheim is trickier than Asgard, with all the mercenary groups and bandits.”

“A bit like my realm have been for the past couple of millennia,” Alflyse smirked. “The last King's male child still lives.”

“Not for long, if we take Alfheim, he has to go. Frigga is a bitter bitch, but he is all the more obvious about it.” Moreover, she was not keen on leaving any major players alive.

“Laufey said that Asgard will not be a problem afterwards, but this is more, correct? You will make them weak as newborns.”

Farbauti smirked. “Asgard will be a mere memory, a tale to tell children at bedtime, until no one remembers it at all...”

“Bor tried to erase us out of memory, it did not go well,” Alflyse chided.

“He left you alive.”

Alflyse met her eyes. “Genocide?”

“If possible, I will spare their children and the commoners. Send them back to Vanaheim where they spawned in the first place. If not... I will not lose sleep over it.”

Alflyse smirked. “No, what you will lose sleep over is taking Alfheim first. Trust me, that battle will be over before it begin. As long as the Light Elves are on my realm they can be subjugated, what is to say that they will not cause problems if they were given their realm back?”

Farbauti hummed.

“Forget Alfheim, what we should take out is Vanaheim's minor worlds. The farming and mining done there supports much of the population and they are practically unguarded.”

“Alright. Once Laufey is done with his end we will bring in the main force and subjugate Vanaheim. Asgard will only have themselves to rely on by then.”

“The dwarves will not aid them so far.”

“No, they like money, and will pledge allegiance to anyone who has it,” Farbauti agreed. “You and the elven army will hold Vanaheim, they will not mind elves as much as they would my people.”

Alflyse nodded.

“Once we have everything under a reasonable amount of control we will launch smaller attacks on Asgard's main world to test their defenses and tire them out. We will strike with full force when their winter falls.”

“That is _very_ soon.”

“Oh, not this one, the next,” Farbauti said.

“That is still _very_ soon.” Alflyse played with her hair. “Tight schedule and a large area.”

“You doubt me, sister?”

“Yes. The size of your force is too small.”

“Ah-ah, the _visible_ part of the army is small. I have three times that cloaked in invisibility, and should I need to I have reserves back home. Not just inexperienced children either. We will keep a supply line open and we will transport wounded home. If you wish to raid Vanaheim, so be it, but my army has orders to not harm anyone who is not a danger. Asgard has already driven both its colonies to desperation, no need to add insult to injury.”

Alflyse smirked.

 

 


	5. Svartalfheim's Internal Matters

Despite having no official role or authority Loki was the one to receive Mirka, Laufey's bastard son with Queen Alflyse of Svartalfheim. Helblindi was not very keen on seeing hide nor hair of their many half-siblings, and so it was up to Loki to deal with them.

Personally, Loki thought Helblindi needed a smack over the head and he might just be the one forced to do it. Clearly neither of his parents had seen fit to deal with that problem. As much as ignoring problems until they went away was a valid tactic at times, this was not the kind of thing that would simply disappear on its own.

“What brings you here?” Loki asked, and he hoped he was coming off more curious than confrontational. Really though, Mirka was older than him and should be well equipped to deal with whatever problem he had in his own court. In fact, he was older than Farbauti. At that moment he was shaking like a leaf in a rough wind and looked about as adult as a newborn kitten.

“The Light Elves are rebelling now that mother has left the realm,” Mirka muttered. The half-elf prince was dressed in practical warrior clothes, which he was fidgeting with.

“Surely _Thor_ can deal with that. His normal approach to diplomacy is to crush a few skulls.”

Thor was already on Svartalfheim, and he had chosen to remain even when faced with a war against Asgard. Loki doubted he had switched sides. He doubted Thor understood the implications of what he was doing.

Mirka bit on a nail. “Based on rumors I would have assumed the same, but from what I see him do? No. Thor is no help.”

“Is it really that bad?” Byleist asked.

“There has been stability here. The same family has ruled for many millennia. On my realm we have just barely settled after a long and brutal civil war. Things could very well go bad.”

“Grundroth?” Loki turned to the guard closest. “Do we have anyone we can spare?”

“Maybe eight or ten. Your brother will be upset,” Grundroth shrugged.

“Which one of my brothers? Because there is plenty upset going around it seems.” Loki conjured a map of Svartalfheim and turned back to Mirka. “Show me where, I will leave you here with the children.”

In other words, act like a child and be treated like one.

“You cannot tell anyone I am gone,” Mirka said quietly. “If no one from the royal family is present on the realm... our claim on the throne is forfeit.”

“Father did not allow you to fly,” Byleist frowned.

“He did not allow me to join the war, he said nothing of going to Svartalfheim, which is practically our backyard these days,” Loki said.

“I feel better when you are here. And Helblindi too.” Byleist leaned into him heavily. “And mother and father.”

Loki felt a niggling of guilt for leaving his young siblings when they were his sole explicitly stated responsibility. “Me too,” he said quietly. “But I have to help with this.”

And he had to smack Helblindi on the head.

“Actually...” Loki looked at all three of his siblings. “You three could probably stay with Gaupe in Thrymheim. When I get back I have some things I need to talk to Helblindi about.”

“Like how you are about to do something you should leave well enough alone?” Byleist muttered sullenly.

Mirka smirked. “Or he just wants to fuck without curious eyes.”

Loki patted Byleist on the head. “All will be well, eventually. This is hardly the first time for me, anyway. I used do this a lot when I lived on Asgard.”

Usually with Thor.

 

 


	6. Vanaheim

“I hate this realm,” Laufey grumbled when they reached the edges of Vanaheim's territory. Though he rather thought the realm was lush with all the forests and the architecture in the capital city was nice.

“They are none too keen on you either,” Farbauti reminded him in a casual manner.

“This is one of the largest realms,” Laufey went on to complain, “It has countless little moons, five inhabited planets and they are mining the outer planets. It is massive. An awful lot of nooks and crannies to hide in, and wherever there is a nook or cranny to hide in, there will be a mercenary hiding there with at least one small stash of sharp weapons.”

“We knew this.”

He grumbled some more while she largely ignored him. He was unwilling to put any of his tactics to work, no species with such strong bonds to their family was meant to travel. For the most part they did not. He had in his youth when he had little care for the few bonds he had, but leaving the children behind now – too far away and for too long – tore at him.

“We will be attacking here first.” Farbatui showed him on a map. “Then here. Slow and steady, I do not want the supply lines stretched.”

Laufey much preferred a quick attack.

Alflyse hummed appreciatively. “Yes, that will work, I believe. How up to date is the scout troop's information?”

Laufey shrugged. “Two months out of date in most places, the previous ones showed little change, but with how quickly Alfheim deteriorated... could be accurate, could be entirely wrong. For the larger settlements we have people in place.”

“I did not count on you to be so prepared,” Alflyse said.

“Oh?” Farbauti said.

“I always prepare,” Laufey said. “I merely do not bother with all the what-ifs.”

 

* * *

 

The fighting started almost right away. They took out Aesir communication and their stationed soldiers, leaving the Vanir alone unless they attacked. It was a tactic that the Vanir noticed, and soon civilians were evacuated before they arrived.

As one of the few to understand the languages spoken in the realm Laufey often went with one of the groups in charge of dismantling any technology built by the Aesir. They were easy to spot – stuck out like sore thumbs in the landscape – but not always easy to pick apart.

The Allspeak, for all its uses, was limited unless you understood the culture.

“This is so outdated, I could not even have found spare parts for it among the dwarves,” one of the workers complained. He held a nearly disintegrated part in front of his own face as if watching it closer might improve it. “Useless.”

“They never cared much for anything not involving swords and spears,” Laufey said. “At first, when they settled in their floating rock, they used what artifacts they could steal from others. It meant they had a limited understanding of how it worked, and practically none about how to fix it.”

The area was quiet with just a few poorly hidden scouts, no Vanir troops nearby, but that kind of luck would likely not stretch for later sites. They were getting close to a major city.

Laufey took out a rolled up scroll of parchment and threw it so it landed in front of the nearest scout. The Vanir quickly snatched it from the ground and read it.

“What was that?” one of his men asked quietly.

“It says that as long as they refrain from attacking we will only meddle with Asgard's surveillance.”

The scout went to talk to another one close by, but far enough that Laufey was only able to make out snippets of their conversation.

 

* * *

 

“Look!” Laufey did not allow Farbauti's obvious hesitation to dampen his spirit. “A Tailroot.”

“That would be a cat,” she corrected. “Which is a predator, I might add.”

“No, it is a Tailroot. It was hidden in a pile of snow, just the tail sticking up.” He mimicked pulling the cat up by its tail. “Tail root.”

“Your first instinct upon seeing a tail was to pull on it? How did you live past childhood without losing a limb?”

Laufey ignored her in favor of holding a kitten by her face. “Furhiss.”

“Do you plan on keeping them since you have named them?” She took the kitten and examined it, so he assumed that was the end of that.

“Of course I am keeping them.”

 

 


	7. Rebellion On Svartalfheim

Thor had honestly tried to quell the rebellion that was started by the immigrant Light Elves, because in Alflyse's absence he felt responsible, what with that son of hers being a bastard and all. He talked at length with the elves to try to reach a peaceful solution, but it had no real effect. They told him to his face he did not understand the issue and as soon as his back was turned they went back their acts of sabotage and protests.

After a month the council, by now openly exasperated, had sent a request to Jotunheim for Helblindi to come. Helblindi sent Loki instead, and regrettably Loki slaughtered the Light Elves involved. So viciously in fact that Thor recoiled slightly from his bloodied visage when Loki marched into the court room with a severed head in his hand, looking like a blue, vengeful demon.

“That is a bit much, brother,” Thor objected.

“The troublemakers are dead,” Loki snapped, his tall Jotun form looming a little over Thor's height. Loki had always been shorter before. “What would you have done if it had been giants? You would have killed them all. You have been the same for centuries, but now you wish for mercy? Because they have fair skin and light hair?”

Loki dropped the head by Thor's feet. It was partially true, the Light Elves looked more Aesir than the Dark Elves with their dark blue skin and black hair.

“You have had _weeks_ to mend and fix this. I love you, you are my brother, but we are at war. You cannot allow the realm to fall simply because your wife is not here to growl at her subjects.”

Thor had always superimposed Loki's Aesir looks over his Jotun face, but for the first time he found he could not. He realized with clarity that Loki was a Prince of Jotunheim. There was Laufey's fury in his eyes and Farbauti's ruthlessness in his hands. The lines on his face were similar to those of Jotunheim's other princes; of Helblindi and Byleist.

Was Loki lost to the Frost Giants? Was there nothing left of him?

“You know _nothing_ of the people here,” Loki continued to scold Thor as if he were a mere child. “Elves do not value half-hearted attempts, they want results. I know this because I have lived among the Light Elves. You might remember that exile was the favored punishment when it came to me. You have never hesitated before. You used to relish the chance to punish the ones who strayed.”

“My friends were killed for it,” Thor said calmly, though he felt his temper rise. “I nearly killed Byleist. I nearly lost you. How can I continue as I was when it nearly cost me my brother? Had you been any less skilled I would have killed you.”

Loki gave him a look that proclaimed him an idiot. Thor sighed in growing annoyance.

“Going from one extreme to the other is _not_ progress,” Loki said, still furious but keeping it better under control. “Mother will be pleased,” he then said cheerfully, doing a mood swing almost worthy of Laufey, “she wants you nowhere near the throne and the elves will never obey such a weak-willed King. Congratulations, Thor, you are the next Frey!”

Thor scratched the back of his neck. Truth be told Alflyse was not overly keen on seeing him gain political power either.

“I have to go,” Loki said and turned on his heel. “Unlike you, I do have responsibilities.”

How had Odin ever looked at Loki and not seen Laufey?

Or had he? Was that why Loki was treated differently? Because father had seen the threat for what it was? But how could he have stayed unaffected? Loki had been a sweet, if clingy, child. He had been happy and willing to do whatever Thor wanted.

He had also been weak, which Thor now knew was probably caused by malnutrition. Loki was not weak when they had battled on Jotunheim. Not even a glancing blow from Mjolnir had stopped him.

Thor shook his head and walked away from the severed head still by his feet. Someone else would clean it up.

 

* * *

 

Alflyse had been considerate enough to provide Thor with his own set of rooms, even if he spent very little time there. When he was not training alone outside in the army's training grounds he spent his time in one of the many pubs and taverns that littered the capital city.

There was not much company to be had, as elven maids were unresponsive to his charm and elven men did not find his stories of glorious battles interesting, but there was strong drinks at least.

His favorite tavern was close to the palace and the owner seemed to be happy enough to provide him with as much liquor as he could stomach. Other places were not interested in serving him when he told them that a royal prince did not pay.

He drank until he passed out.

The palace guards brought him back at times, other times he woke up when the tavern closed and the bouncers kicked him out.

However, he did have his own rooms and he spent some time between drinking binges to go over his belongings. He touched his souvenirs and often wished for his Asgardian armor, but it had been left behind. All his clothes in fact. He only had what the elves wanted him to wear.

 

* * *

 

A few days after Loki's bloody visit he felt a shift in the gossip around court. Alflyse's bastard son Mirka – a clear half-breed and a rather unbecoming young man – was taking over the duties of the council. Helblindi had arrived the day before and he had been in a rather sullen mood when he had dissolved the council entirely.

Thor looked at Mirka where he was sitting on Alflyse's throne, holding a public audience for the benefit of the commoners. He was dressed finely enough, but his dark skin had patches of Jotun blue in it and his red eyes were inherited from his father. He looked appalling, as far as Thor was concerned. Supposedly Loki's birth mother was a half-elf as well, but she was nowhere near as ugly.

Once the public audience was called to an end and the guards had cleared the peasants away Mirka stepped down.

“Would you like to join me for supper?” Mirka asked from half the room away.

Thor shook his head. He had come to see what could be learned, but had quickly found that nothing of import was being discussed. He had not come to spend any time with his wife's ugly bastard son.

“A pity,” Mirka said, like he always did. Thor had no idea why the bastard was so eager for companionship – other than his looks. Or why he was allowed to rule. Then again, he supposed it boiled down to his own poor language skills and the general lack of a legitimate heir.

“I wish to send a message to my parents.”

Mirka looked surprised. “We are at war.”

“So?”

“You will send no messages to Asgard.”

Thor glared at him.

Mirka said something Thor did not understand, but it did not sound like something complimentary.

 

* * *

 

The tutor Alflyse had hired to teach Thor the local language was strict. Thor disliked him and he disliked the language. It was overly complicated and it was impossible to find something as simple as a quill and parchment. The elves complicated everything by using odd technology.

Thor supposed having the lessons in the mornings did not help when he was hung over most days. Well, morning was a generous term. Elves had the day all backwards and got up at dusk, only to be in bed sometimes after dawn.

He disliked being on Svartalfheim. He was supposed to rule the Realm Eternal – a golden, bright and plentiful realm. If only he had not spoken up in favor of the Frost Giants and Loki, he would still be crown prince and his father would have seen no reason to replace him. He should have left Loki to the giants and stayed in Asgard. Sentiment was going to be the end of him.

 

 


	8. A Fight Over Family

Helblindi glared in Hailstrum's general direction for a long time before he relented and laid down in the nest. He did not imagine sleep would claim him anytime soon, even so. He hated sleeping alone.

They had all known Loki would have more of a temper than what he had previously showed. He had not expected a fight lasting all night, he had not expected Raze and Hailstrum to separate them – though perhaps he should have.

He also would never have expected Loki to go to the elves and take a few heads off the pale elves. He minded little, but he disliked Loki placing himself in danger. He had argued with Farbauti over sending him into Asgard's vault, but she had said he could succeed. That Loki was not much younger than her, and that he was skilled. She had been right too, but neither one of his parents knew caution. Farbauti knew planning, but she was never willing to take a step back and leave something alone.

Byleist and Skadi were with Gaupe in Thrymheim. Not only had Loki picked a fight with him, he had planned it enough to keep the littles out of harms way. A wise move, as it turned out when their argument got heated. He was surprised they had not fought physically.

As for their main argument about the various offspring Laufey had sired, well, Helblindi was sure Loki was right. It did not make it more pleasant, and it did not make him less angry, but he could appreciate that Loki did have a point.

“I know you will not want my opinion,” Hailstrum said quietly, “but you might want to consider that your father always wanted you to get along with your other siblings.”

“I suppose that would include you, then, as well?”

“I have long since made peace with my place in the world. In fact, I have been grateful for it. We might have been born by the same woman, you and me, but I have never looked at you and thought of you as a brother. Nor, to be honest, have I viewed your father in such a way. Nal was the ruthless crown prince, that he saved me and others from Ice's madness does not mean much. There is no bond, not like siblings should have. When he took the name Laufey and chose to rule I stood by him because he was the best choice, not because we share blood.” Hailstrum sighed. “But, the little prince is different. He calls Raze cousin, and in a way he is right to do so. It makes no difference to me, but my son enjoys it.”

Helblindi rubbed a hand over his face. He had no wish to spend time with his half-siblings and he certainly did not want them to move in like Loki wanted. There were a lot of things he would rather do. On the other hand, this was important to Loki. Important enough that he was willing to fight for it. It was perhaps odd that Loki who had wanted to sleep alone when he first came to live with them now wanted to have as much family around as possible.

“Given how he has lived until now perhaps it is not so strange he craves the bonds now that he has a few,” Hailstrum continued, as if he knew Helblindi's thoughts.

“I need to think,” Helblindi muttered and walked out. He made no comment when Hailstrum followed. As long as his bastard brother-uncle was quiet he could do as he pleased.

It was not particularly cold since it was daytime, but there was a harsh wind.

Fresh air always made him think better.

 

* * *

 

The next night he was cautious as he approached Loki. He wanted to end their fight, and he was willing to compromise. He usually was.

“I would rather not fight you,” Loki said. It was easy to believe when Loki sounded like he had spent the day crying.

“Can we compromise?” Helblindi asked softly, not wanting to intimidate Loki. “Have them over once in a while to start with?”

“Maybe if things were different. Some of them have no other relatives on the realm right now, they are alone and they are just as worried about the war as we are. At the very least let me fetch them. Dis is staying where she is. Varg and Gaupe will remain in Thrymheim with Thiazi, but they would like to come and visit.”

Helblindi thought for a while, but then he nodded. “At least bring them with a week between each, I need time to get used to this.” And he knew there were a lot of them to get used to.

Loki nodded. They were silent, standing half a room apart, until Loki spoke up. “Are you angry at me?”

“You should be angry at me, I am the one acting like a spoiled child. I love you, and I never want you to think that us disagreeing will make me stop loving you. I never did like to argue, I am tired, and I want to have this over with.”

He started walking, slowly, until they met in a hug. Loki hugged him hard and Helblindi thought it was a good feeling to have it over with. Even if he gave in.

 

* * *

 

The first one to arrive was Nott, who came along with Loki when he went to take Byleist and Skadi home. She was small, like Loki, and while she took up very little space physically she made up for it with her personality. Laufey usually bled over into his children that way.

“You are sulking,” Loki said, unimpressed.

“She does not feel like family.”

“I still expect to see pink skin when I look at my arms. I really like Laufey and Farbauti as parents, but there is always that little denial in the back of my mind saying something different. Trust me, I get it.”

Nott leaned into him. “Come on, you like me a _little_ ,” she said.

He grunted, neither agreeing or disagreeing, but Loki had chosen well. Nott was easy to like and she did not grate on him the way Varg always did.

“I know you like this one,” Loki said, placing Skadi in his lap.

“What do you think, Byleist?” Helblindi asked.

“I miss mom,” the boy whined.

Helblindi dragged the boy in for a hug with one arm since he was holding Skadi as well. Nott had stayed put leaning against him.

“I miss peaches,” Loki said, the only one who was not touching him somehow. “Why do we not have peaches?”

“Too cold,” Helblindi answered. “When the war is over we could probably import some. We used to import a lot of fruits and vegetables from Alfheim before the troubles with Asgard.”

 

 


	9. Chapter 9

Laufey had landed on a small planet in a buffer zone between the Aesir and Vanir territorial border with two groups, one of scouts and one tasked with destroying Aesir communications. They had been lucky so far in that they had encountered little resistance. Mostly they had attracted curious Vanir, found a few hermits who wanted to be left alone, and a lot of animals not native to Jotunheim.

This was close to the border and the Aesir were getting twitchy. They had Vanir rebels to the South, which was of no concern at first since they were too skittish to engage. Not until a scout spotted Aesir warriors to the North and East. To their immediate West lay a large domed building housing surveillance equipment and a communication booster – all meant to be dismantled. Besides the Aesir building the West offered rugged mountains and no cover.

“Blow it up,” Laufey ordered. “We will not have time to go slow here.”

“I can't hail the fleet,” Starkad, one of the officers, said. He was young, just like the ones he commanded were young.

“We got a message just a while ago that they had engaged hostile ships. A trap. How clever of them.” As much as he hated to admit it, the Aesir had outsmarted him. Not only were they now cut off from the main army for who knew how long, they were short on supplies since the mission had been expected to be short. Laufey was not amused. He had argued against land missions without a means of escape, but practical matters had taken precedence.

The ships would not allow one to teleport or open a portal into one. Not with any magic he knew anyway.

“Do we make a stand?” Starkad asked.

Laufey shook his head. “You see these?” He pointed out the young and mostly inexperienced soldiers, perhaps a little unnecessarily. “These barely out of the nest younglings? At best they will make good meat shields.”

Starkad sighed.

Laufey waited until the explosives were set and then teleported the lot of them out. It was draining, a portal would have been better for so many, but he was not about to risk the Aesir following through it before it could be closed down.

They were on the far side of a mountain, on a small cliff.

“Alright, we wait here until we can hail one of the ships.”

“Not enough space, we need more area to move about. There's a problem with the breathing devices,” Starkad said cautiously.

“Of course there is, no problem ever comes alone, now does it?” Laufey muttered. “How bad?”

“Well, they have two settings – elves or us. Small or big. Unfortunately some of the smallest have trouble with either setting. They either pant for breath or they feel like they have to breathe too often unless they run.”

“Which is why the youngest appear hyperactive,” Laufey nodded. He had seen it a lot when they were on the ground. The younglings asked for harder work or to be able to run. He had thought they simply wanted to prove themselves. “This is the type of thing you should have reported a long time ago.”

“My apologies,” Starkad said.

“We cannot stay here then. Climb down, see that cave?”

They followed his order.

The terrain was typical of a planet not meant for habitation – too rough, too sharp, and with no cover to speak of.

As soon as there was enough space for the Bifrost it slammed down hard on the surface with a bright light. A handful of Aesir soldiers arrived. Too few and too poorly trained, but it was more of a fight than the younglings were used to. They managed, but it was a close call for some of them.

Laufey hid them from view before more could arrive. If he had to magically drag these youngsters out of another pinch he would tire himself out quickly.

They settled into the shallow cave. It was shelter, but not enough.

The youngest were too tired to keep fighting. Worse, they were scared. As were the officers, and that just would not stand. Laufey walked through the soldiers, looking for those who looked the least afraid and pulled them up until they stood.

“This is not a playfight, children, this is war. You do not get a second chance, and you will get no mercy from the enemy. The choices are between our death or their death.”

One of them whined as he pulled, but stood all the same. He had never liked being surrounded by newly trained recruits; they were always too meek, but if they lived they would be sturdier next time.

He did nothing to heal the majority of them, relying on them to patch each other up. The one who was the worst off had a broken rib which was caused by one of their own to boot. He went to the boy and used just enough magic to make it heal. Starkad had called the boy Gyllir.

Gyllir who, Laufey was sure, was not old enough to be in the army. The boy was too easily breakable. While he might have allowed Farbauti to fight in the last war she had mostly obeyed the order to work from a distance with ranged weapons.

“How old are you?” he asked, quickly adding “and do not even _think_ about lying to me.”

Gyllir muttered “three hundred and two” almost too low to hear, and to be honest that was more than Laufey would have guessed.

“I got sent instead of my brother,” Gyllir said after chewing his lip.

A loud popping noise signaled the arrival of two trolls. Turning away from the boy Laufey instead faced the small menaces.

The smaller one climbed on top of the shoulders of the bigger. “Lokiness sends regards,” the troll on the bottom said. “Not sure what it means.”

“Said losing contact was bad,” the top troll supplied.

“I told him to stay out of it,” Laufey muttered.

“We help,” the troll on top said with slow exaggerated gestures. “We get to big ship and Girl-Queen. In return Nalness and Girl-Queen listen to request from Taika, yes?”

Laufey eyed the trolls speculatively. It was a simple bargain, and he was not promising Farbauti would help them with whatever they wanted.

“Alright.”

Troll magic went through the barriers around the ships as if there were none. When he was less irritated he really needed to study their magic.

 


	10. Chapter 10

Loki had, much to Hailstrum's irritation, handed over a detailed report of what had occurred from the point when Mirka arrived up to when he got back from Svartalfheim. Odin would have wanted one. Besides, it annoyed everyone else too and Loki kind of felt like that made it worth it.

“Grundroth is scrubbing the dungeon,” Raze said.

“Why?”

“He took orders from a nestling.” Raze leaned in with a glare. “That simply will not do.”

“What can I say? Ordering people around just comes naturally,” Loki smirked.

“Oh, I am sure...” Raze shrugged. “I want my guards to do their job properly, which is why I have rotated most of yours and given them more detailed instructions.”

Loki raised an eyebrow. “I wouldn't know either way, I never see them.”

“Would you like to?” Hailstrum asked. He had read through the report already, Loki noted. Perhaps he had been misjudging the man, perhaps big and strong did not necessarily mean dumb.

 

* * *

 

Studying magic had been put a little on hold lately, but Loki found that having Frida on the same realm helped. Having a communications device helped. Having free access to a non-censured library helped. There had been so man restrictions before that he sometimes forgot he could pop into the library and actually find books on magic.

They had moved from illusions to spells more suited on the battlefield, but it was slow work. He had never assumed he would be able to use offensive magic during battle, not while living on Asgard at least, and so had not focused on it.

Frida had small bags full of sand which she threw at him while he was trying to concentrate. She rarely hit him, but she often made them cut as close as possible.

“This is difficult. Can you not just tell me what I am supposed to do?”

“I am your teacher, Loki, not your priest. It is not my job to spoon-feed you a doctrine, you will have to take the facts and assemble them yourself.”

Loki huffed.

“Again.”

He had known it would be difficult, but he had not accounted for the stress. He had to make his spells perfect or Frida would scold him, and he had to do them fast enough to avoid the irregular barrage of projectiles.

When they took a break Loki was about ready to give up.

“You are doing remarkably well.”

Loki turned and looked at woman who had been a spectator the entire training session. He did not know her, but he had seen her in Utgard and Thrymheim a few times in passing. “Really?” he asked sarcastically.

“It took me half a year to manage to cast solidly enough to hit the bags, and here you are managing that progress in an evening and sulking about it not progressing faster.”

 

* * *

 

Loki had not seen Bestla since the first time he met her and when she showed up in the capital he was of half a mind to avoid her. Especially considering the guards warned him she was there.

“Why is everyone so twitchy about Bestla?”

“She never approved of Ice, and she has openly opposed Laufey since he succeeded her. She used to try to rally rebellions, but she has always been seen as an outsider,” Helblindi said.

“What about Farbauti?”

“I have no idea how Bestla feels about Farbauti, I always assumed her recent silence was either because she approved or due to her clan abandoning her. They moved away and chose another matriarch.”

“You simplify too much,” Nott said. “Bestla led Farbauti's tribe before Farbauti was born.”

Loki had yet to bring anyone else to the nest, but Nott fit in well enough. She complained about missing her mother and how she could hardly wait to go home, even if overall she was happy to have company.

 

* * *

 

Loki did not rush over to where he knew Bestla had holed herself up, instead he took the time to walk through the communal cave and talk to people on the way. The ratio between adults and children had shifted until there were more children than adults. They clumped together around what adults there were.

“Does the Blind King know you are here?” Bestla asked when he reached her.

“Yes,” Loki said and indicated the guards. “He does not approve.”

Bestla hummed bemusedly. “So why come?”

“You are the only grandparent I have left, even if there is no blood between us. Also, I heard you were the source of some rebellions.”

“Mm. I evaded Ice by pure luck. Laufey is more of an annoyance, and he does listen to criticism. Raise enough fuss and he usually thinks about things an extra time. The Blind One is more reasonable, a pity really that he would never be allowed to take over fully.”

“What about my mother?”

“She comes from my people, did you know? The various hunting tribes in the south were once a single clan which my mother ruled. Before Ice destroyed the City of Kuura, at any rate. I have no objection to Farbauti so far.”

“Oh, the ruins?”

“Everything is ruins on this realm. Laufey has rebuilt Svartalfheim, but here? Nothing.”

“I suppose,” Loki agreed. “What was Kuura like? Before it fell?”

“Nothing you have ever seen. Thrymheim and Isgard were twin cities, all in black. But try to imagine a city all in white, as if it was made out of pure snow. Kuura predated all other cities we had. It was located by the ocean and had a large dock for ships.”

Bestla shaped ice to form a city in miniature.

“Most buildings were adorned with crystals larger than you or I, which why it was popular to visit. In the evening or morning light the crystals created a rainbow of colors to dance all over the city. We had sculptures made from crystals that looked like trees. It was a marvel, but now it is just another ruin.”

 


	11. Chapter 11

Farbauti was not overly keen on losing soldiers, but there was something to be said about finally getting a good fight out of the Aesir.

She marked losses and gains on a map and sent orders out to the front.

It was less fighting than she preferred to do, she wanted the blood on her own hands, but she had made many mistakes last time and it had left the capital nearly defenseless.

A portal opened behind her and she whirled around with a knife at the ready before the first person stepped out.

“Laufey?”

“We were ambushed,” he said tersely.

A large troll stepped out after Laufey. It snooped around a little, then waved a hand as soon as the last person was through the portal, closing it.

“You will have to hear him out,” Laufey said.

Farbauti had noted the battered look of everyone save for Laufey and the trolls, and surmised they must have struck a bargain. She gave the large troll a nod.

“Taika,” the large troll placed hands on his own chest as if he was introducing himself, “has request from other trolls. We take back our lands, Girl-Queen get help from trolls.”

“Your lands? Where are they?”

“Pale Elf took, when they ran away from Dark Elf.”

Alfheim. The trolls wanted Alfheim.

“Give me three days and nights to consider this before I answer,” she said.

Taika grinned. “Taika agrees.”

 

* * *

 

Farbauti eyed Alflyse closely as she brought her up to date on what the troll had offered.

“Is it true?” Alflyse asked.

“I read up on it,” Laufey said, cuddling his two new pets. “It is written down in your history books, but it was very long ago. Before my time and that of my mother. I contacted Kvasir and he claims my father was involved in his youth, but he was thrice mother's age when they had me.”

“Can they be trusted?” Alflyse asked.

“I do not know,” Farbauti admitted. “Loki trusts the trolls, but my interactions with them are very limited.”

“More importantly, how much of Alfheim for they want? Could they coexist with Light Elves? Can the Light Elves coexist with the trolls?” Laufey asked.

The small kitten played with the tail of the mother cat. She knew she would have to send Laufey home. He had too much of a sense of duty to leave, but he was obviously homesick.

“How many do they number?” Farbauti mused to herself, not expecting an answer. She activated a communicator and contacted Hailstrum, told him to fetch Loki at the earliest convenience.

“Mother?” Loki's voice rang out in the room. He looked well, though confused.

“We are well, we need your opinion. How have you been?”

“Fine,” Loki said.

“Tell us about trolls, Loki. Someone called Taika just approached me.”

“There are six troll tribes, ruled by three kings and three queens. Taika is the son of one of the kings and one of the queens. He is building the seventh troll tribe out of youngsters from the other six tribes.” Loki rubbed his shoulder. “The trolls live in exile after they were driven away from their ancestral home world. Taika lives on Vanaheim, where his mother also makes her home. They send out children to collect food and trinkets, which is why most assume trolls to be rather small and weak.”

“Do you know their numbers?”

“Taika has the smallest bunch, I once counted his mother's tribe to be about twenty thousand. She has the second largest. Together I think they number a bit under a hundred thousand individuals, not counting children. I could be wrong on that account, I was very monitored when I was with them.”

“Could they be of any use in a fight?” Laufey asked. She noticed how Laufey looked at the boy as if he wanted nothing more than to hold him. She could sympathize, she missed her children terribly.

“Yes.”

Helblindi said something behind Loki, and then they swapped so that she was speaking to Helblindi instead.

 

* * *

 

“We should cut off the Bifrost here too,” Laufey said once they were alone with Alflyse.

“That is a lot of effort for a realm we will abandon to their own devices,” Farbauti argued.

“Yes, but it will help us and give the Vanir a sense of independence. A gesture of good will, if you so want.”

“Fine, but once done you go home. Your heart is not in this.”

Laufey looked like she had slapped him.

“Sister -” Alflyse cut in. Farbauti held her hand up to silence her.

“I have more mages under my command, I have generals, I have well-trained soldiers, but my children only have one father. If you stay you will get yourself killed. Go home.”

“I am not leaving you to fight a war _alone,_ ” Laufey said.

“Do I have to tell you a third time? Take the wounded with you. If you come back – and I will not expect you to – you will have your entire focus on the task and not on the nestlings.”

“Sister,” Alflyse said urgently, “we need him.”

“We need everyone _focused_ ,” Farbauti said. “I know you worship him, and you know I love him, but this war will only be won if we give it our all.”

Laufey sighed. “I agree. I still do not wish to leave you.”

“I have planned this for three hundred years, I will manage. Take your pets with you.”

 

 


	12. Chapter 12

Thor brought his personal copy of the marriage contract to his tutor. “I wish to translate this.”

The tutor shrugged and grabbed a thick law book from the bookshelf in his study.

Internally Thor groaned at the sight of the large tome, but he sat down and took out a fresh piece of parchment. The tutor gave the usual disdainful look at the parchment, but refrained from commenting for once.

“It is a fairly standard contract.”

“I have never seen a marriage contract before, I wouldn't know,” Thor said.

“Marriage?” the tutor asked. “This is no marriage contract, you did not expect the Queen to marry you, surely?”

“Why else would we have a wedding?”

“A wedding?” the tutor looked puzzled. “I was at the ceremony, that was no wedding.”

 

* * *

 

A herald from Asgard's royal court brought a message to Thor.

“Vanaheim is lost to us,” it said in his father's neat writing. Only Asgard still stood as a last beacon of hope against the savages.

He considered going on drinking binge, but decided against it. He had done little more than get drunk lately. What he needed was to get away from the Dark Elves, far away.

“I need your help,” he told the herald. “I need to get to Vanaheim.”

If he could turn the tide, then his father would surely reinstate him as Asgard's crown prince.

“I would advise against it,” the herald said. “We have no more troops stationed there, no surveillance equipment, and if you do go no one will be able to help you get away since a barrier blocks the Bifrost.”

Thor clenched his jaws. “I will manage,” he said with a stiff nod.

 

* * *

 

Judging by the excited chatter around court Thor had assumed some sort of festivity was to take place, but when he joined the others in the throne room he just saw sniveling children. In his current mood he had no patience for it.

“What is this?” he asked one of the commoners.

“War orphans, they will be given new families.”

“Would it not be better to just place them in an orphanage?” Thor asked.

The question earned him odd looks.

“Elves and giants value children,” a familiar voice said from behind him.

“Come to chop off more heads?” he asked. His senses prickled at having a Frost Giant behind him.

Loki scoffed, moved to stand next to Thor.

“Where's the little leech you normally carry around?”

“Skadi?” Loki asked. “She is no leech.”

Thor shrugged. “Why are you here?” he asked.

“I came to see you. I would rather not fight.”

“You always were a coward.”

“What has you in such a mood?” Loki asked, as if he actually cared. Thor doubted it, he had abandoned them all as soon as he could. Loki might claim he valued family, but Thor knew better since Loki had split up his. If Loki had cared he would have left Jotunheim as soon as possible after their kidnapping, and all evidence pointed to that he could have escaped. He had not, thus he was responsible for the ensuing problems.

“Did you know that my marriage contract is not a marriage contract at all?” Thor asked. He knew it was probably Alflyse, the lying bitch, and his parents who were to blame. His parents should have had someone translate the contract. Someone neutral.

“No? I was not privy to any details on that, seeing as I had stopped talking to Odin and Frigga.”

“Well it isn't. As soon as I find a way to, I am leaving for Asgard.”

“That would be unwise, with the war.”

“I can handle your bitch of a mother,” Thor said in a quiet whisper. He turned to leave, but heard the commoners fuss over Loki and whirled around. He grabbed one of the openly crying children closest by the arm and hurled it into a wall.

The shock bought him precious seconds, which he used to disarm a guard and kill him with his own weapon. The children screamed, the commoners tried to run. Had there not been so many people around the guards would have overwhelmed him quickly, but as it stood they were slowed by the panicked herd of elves.

Thor ran as fast as he could, managing to get to the ship just in the nick of time.

“Go!” he screamed.

The guards shot at them, but they were already off.

 

 


	13. Chapter 13

Loki cursed, with the crowd in the way he would not be able to hit Thor with a spell.

“Order!” came a loud, amplified shout.

The panicked elves stilled, and Loki's guards brought him closer to one of the exits, which was also the one Thor had used. He could see healers tending to those who had been injured.

“Everyone will stay until we hear back from the city guards,” Mirka announced. He looked around the room. “Do we know the reason for this... attack?”

“You tell me,” Loki said when Mirka's eyes found him. “He mentioned the contract he has with your mother.”

When Mirka looked to the floor Loki narrowed his eyes.

“Be that as it may,” Loki said, “we have traumatized children to care for.”

Mirka nodded resolutely and tried to get the business of finding orphans new homes under way.

Having spent some time in the orphanage in Asgard, Loki quickly recognized the pattern. The youngest were first to go, then the physically appealing, the talented. Left was an older child, perhaps closer to Loki's age than actual childhood.

“You will go with the Jotuns,” Mirka ordered the last orphan. “They will keep you fed until the end of the war.”

It sounded callous. As if he had ordered Jotunheim to feed unwanted orphans.

“Come,” Loki said with a smile to the orphan. “We place orphans in temporary families until someone adopts them, you will not merely be fed and forgotten. I will cast a spell on you to keep you warm until appropriate clothes have been made for you.”

A captain from the city guards approached Mirka and spoke quietly to him. Meanwhile the orphan walked over to Loki.

 

 

* * *

 

 

Loki dutifully followed Laufey to an empty room. He had barely even seen him at all since he got back and Loki did not like this one bit.

“I heard you went and caused some bloodbath on Svartalfheim.”

Loki nodded hesitantly. “I just killed a few rebels. It quieted down after that. I left Byleist and Skadi with Gaupe, they were never alone.”

“I know, Helblindi told me that, but he did not know why you went at the time. Why was Helblindi not involved?”

“Because Mirka came and Helblindi refused to see him... which meant he had no idea what Mirka wanted... and then I sort of just did what I felt I had to.” Loki fiddled with his claws while he talked and refused to look at Laufey. Laufey had an odd look on his face when he finally did look and Loki looked away again.

“You are not in trouble, Kitten, I just want to know what happened and why.” Laufey placed his hands on Loki's shoulders. “I would not punish you for doing the same thing I would have, but I would have liked for you to try and reason with Helblindi first, instead of after.”

“You are going to let me off?” Loki asked incredulously.

“You make it sound like I torture you for fun every night. Why would I punish you? Mirka and Helblindi are both older, and they both have more official power. Power they should be using.”

“I just... I figured you might be upset.”

“Is this about your second parents?”

“I...” Loki sighed. “Yes?”

Laufey shook his head. “You did good. I would prefer it if you were not in danger, so next time I want you to go to an adult. Or, you know, send us a message. We do want to hear from you.”

“I did not want to bother you with minor things when you are busy.”

“Asking my advice is not the same as bothering me. It does not make me upset to be disturbed, you can always contact me. I would have sent an order for Hailstrum or one of the others to handle it instead. It would have taken me no time at all.”

Loki nodded.

“Do I get hug yet?” Laufey asked.

Loki felt like he did not really deserve it, but he hugged Laufey anyway.

 

* * *

 

That morning when they went to bed Loki laughed at Laufey trying to snuggle all the people in the nest at once.

“You cannot tell me this is not nice,” Laufey told Helblindi.

“We will need a bigger nest at this rate,” Helblindi muttered.

“Stop sulking,” Loki said.

“Yes, stop sulking,” Laufey echoed.

 

* * *

 

“Are you going back to the war?” Helblindi asked.

“I do not really know. Probably,” Laufey said.

“Stay with the nestlings then.”

“You do not want to rule.”

“Neither do you.”

“The general public would be better served by consistency during a war,” Loki cut in. Laufey piled blankets on top of him while he spoke. “Leave it to Helblindi and just... advise or something.”

“The blanket talks.”

Loki sighed.

Laufey tugged the blankets off. “Kitten?”

“He wants you to take him seriously. He has a point,” Helblindi said.

“I do hear both of you,” Laufey said, looking them in the eyes one at the time. “If we do this I just need to know that you will come to me if you need me to help.”

“Yes,” they both said at the same time.

Laufey covered both of them in furs. Loki got his face free just time to see Helblindi fling the furs off and wrestle Laufey.

 

 


	14. Chapter 14

Odin walked into a small temple of sorts, surveying the carnage around him briefly before approaching the prize he was going to take. The Casket was emitting a bright blue light.

To his surprise a baby was laid next to it. He picked the small giant up, noting it was small enough to pass for an Aesir baby, and as he held it the skin changed from blue to pink. The baby reached for him and he did nothing to stop the tiny hand from curiously poking his chest. A sharp pain pierced him and he dropped the baby. It transformed mid-air into an adult Loki, ready with another sharp piece of ice -

Odin gasped and sat up in bed.

A nightmare.

It was only a nightmare.

His heart raced, but he quickly calmed down once his eyes adjusted to the dark room and he saw all his familiar things. Bad dreams were not uncommon, and this was obviously a reaction to the war. A bright light preceded the spell that immobilized him. Odin seethed, he knew of few who would be able to attack him in his own home with all the wards he had erected.

“Is your sleep troubled, pig?” Laufey melted out of the shadows.

In the open door was Loki, in his Jotun skin, holding a familiar Aesir baby. Odin felt the color drain from his face.

“I am disappointed,” Loki said, “you never introduced me to my... brother. Balder, was it?”

Laufey laughed. “Oh, so you _do_ care about your own children, is that it?”

“Come father, we have what we came for,” Loki said and walked away.

“Mm,” Laufey hummed contentedly. “Wait a while, precious. I have a spell I wish to test.”

Odin paid close attention to what Laufey did – when had that wretch learned magic? – and was appalled when he picked up a small pig from the floor and changed it to resemble Balder. It still sounded like a pig, at least until Laufey ripped it apart and arranged the pieces neatly in Odin's lap.

He wiped one of his bloody hands on Odin's face and grinned at his handiwork. “Like my spellwork? Illusions are handy, but they never last. This will. Have fun explaining it.”

Odin could do nothing but sit there until the spell immobilizing him wore off enough that he could break it with his own magic.

As if that was a cue, people stormed into his bedchamber. Frigga, wet-nurses, guards. There was a scream from Frigga when Odin threw the pieces of meat away and rose from his bed.

An explosion rocked the palace.

“You are no better than they are,” Frigga hissed.

“Be quiet, Laufey was just here with Loki in tow, that is an illusion,” he snapped. Thankfully he did not need to explain, because they were under attack. “Get to the evacuation ship, all of you!”

 

 


	15. Chapter 15

****Ove looked out over the Golden City of Asgard as it burned. Bright streaks of some type of weapons crossed the sky, then loud explosions rocked the very bedrock as it exploded. Soldiers fought elves and giants, but they were losing. He had climbed up on the roof of the orphanage when the fight had begun yo be able to see. The nobles and merchants and other rich citizens had fled for Vanaheim in what spacecrafts were available.

He did not know much of the world, but he knew the Vanir had a deal with the Queen of the giants and that Vanaheim was safe. There had been news of it just before the attack. People were claiming the Vanir were cowards, but when the giants arrived everyone had forgotten all about bravery.

Unfortunately for Ove, he was an orphan and had no funds to leave Asgard. The other orphans were running for the mountains to try to hide. He did not fancy their chances either way, so he had stayed.

Large flapping wings shadowed the roof, making him look up above. He saw a flying creature, not a bird, not really. On top of it was a woman with a bow. She cocked an arrow and aimed. Ove thought she looked graceful, but he also noted the daggers strapped to her belt. He was used to assess danger.

“Hello.”

Ove swirled around and saw another giant, this one a man, on the roof with him. How it had gotten there without making noise he did not know.

“If you come with me, I will take you someplace safe.”

Ove hesitated. He did not trust adults at all.

“I promise not to eat you.”

Ove nodded, deciding that the giants might kill him either way.

 

* * *

 

The safe place turned out to be one of the noblemen's homes. It was full of commoners and children. Ove was given a bowl of hot stew from a Dark Elf. It was the first decent meal he had been given in weeks. Years really. Things had been bad since Prince Loki had disappeared. Ove remembered that merchants had stopped coming to the orphanage with vegetables shortly after the news that the prince was no longer on Asgard.

The old matron had said that it was a pity, but she had not been cross. Until then Ove had assumed that the orphanage was funded by the crown, that King Odin saw to their well-being. The matron had laughed at that and told him they relied on charity. Rich people gave them gifts or money or food so that the orphans survived.

He found a hidden alcove and ate there, then curled up to sleep.

 

 


	16. Chapter 16

Farbauti walked to the building the peace treaty was to be discussed in. She could have teleported there, but there was something about being on solid ground after spending so long in a space ship that appealed to her.

Next to her walked a man destined to die. Not by her hand, but the threats from rebels had been vocal lately. They wanted the head of any Jotun, but curiously enough they wanted Helblindi dead the most. So they had disguised a sick man, one their healers could not cure. He had agreed of his own free will, but he had weeks left of life and no relatives to say goodbye to.

“Wait!”

Farbauti turned to the young woman.

“Please, Your Highness,” she curtsied with practiced ease, “I am Sigyn, I know your son, Loki. I wish to know how he fares.”

“Last I got word he was healthy and well. I believe you wrote to Loki.”

“Yes. I was not sure he received my note.”

“He told me you were acquaintances, nothing more.”

Sigyn blushed. “I did not wish to imply there was more,” she said hastily. “I, well, Jotuns are hardly painted in a positive light here and I worried.”

It happened then, and while she briefly entertained the notion that the girl was involved, the surprise on her young face belied any prior knowledge.

Farbauti had never liked Thor, and she had less reason now when he struck the man who was disguised to look like Helblindi. Vanir guards captured Thor quickly, but his companions kept fighting.

By the time she had dealt with the attackers, Thor had gotten free and fled. She absently tore a limb from the Vanir man she held and cursed. It was almost too bad she had not had the actual Helblindi with her, because he would have considered such a disorganized lot easy to deal with.

The commotion had brought out two dozen spectators.

“I should wipe out your pathetic race,” she muttered, pointedly using Allspeak so the Vanir could understand.

Guards were teleported down from the ship hovering in close orbit, and the disguised man was teleported away.

For theatrical purposes, she was sure, this was when Laufey triggered the destruction of Asgard. She could see it without any aids, and so could the others.

“Where are the Aesir royals hiding? Tell me _now_ and I will spare your lives.”

 

 


	17. Chapter 17

Frigga and Odin were both captured despite not staying in the palace. They had not even been on the Realm Eternal, thankfully. The giants has some gall to blow it up as if it was merely a boulder in a field.

Odin was dragged away first.

“I could bring Thor back to rule in Odin's stead,” she tried to reason with Farbauti who stood and watched with a pleased smile.

Frigga was surprised by the feral grin on Farbauti's face after she had brought the idea up. The cruel glint in her eyes. She had seen a duller version of those expressions when the woman had dragged Loki to Asgard to teach Frigga about the monsters of Jotunheim.

As if she had not known where Loki came from right from the start.

As if she cared.

“Well, well,” Farbauti said, “look who grew a spine.”

“Thor will do as he's told.”

“Thor?” Blue magic gathered in the other woman's hands, cold magic, so unlike the warm golden of Frigga's own. “Not likely. Do you even know what he has been up to?”

“The bastard he killed? What do you care about your husband's child with another woman?”

“I would sooner be able to explain nuclear fission to a pig than the value of family to an Aesir, so I will refrain from answering you.”

“I am Vanir.”

“Take her, and lock her up with the prisoners,” Farbauti ordered.

Frigga went with her head held high.

 

* * *

 

The prison was underground, the place too hot to be comfortable and the air was stale. She had a cell to her own, opposite one full of men from the Golden Army. Theirs was bare, hers was furnished with a bed, a chair, a desk and a bookshelf.

Once boredom sat in she browsed the books, but found it only contained works that painted Vanir and Aesir in poor light. Someone must have thought that a good jest.

Odin had a similar cell down the hall. She saw him if she leaned on the metal bars. The prison must have been build ages ago, even if the bars were all new. Who used metal bars anymore? Energy barriers were so much more efficient.

To her surprise the guards that came to bring food was not of any giant race. “Dinner!” they shouted merrily, banging metal objects together. They wore leather armor with Laufey's coat of arms.

“You're _mortals_ ,” one of the soldiers said, as surprised as Frigga was. “I could crush you between my fingers.”

The guards laughed.

“I suppose,” one of them agreed in good humor.

They placed containers of food in some sort of metal boxes carved into the stone walls. One of them moved a lever and small panels opened inside the cells, containers of food arriving.

“Grab 'em, if you leave 'em we'll close those hatches and you'll not be fed for another day.”

Frigga reluctantly grabbed hers. It was a decent enough system. If they had opened the cells the mortals would have been overpowered in less than a heartbeat. Her containers were hot enough to be unpleasant to touch. One of them contained water which was boiling hot. She quickly placed it all on the desk.

“Now, give it a bit to cool. We heat it to get rid of contaminants.”

The soldiers placed containers on the floor until they had each gotten one. It was a long process, one got his, the hatch closed, the mortals loaded another batch and then repeated the procedure.

The guards left, and the soldiers examined the food.

“I would not serve this swill to pigs!” a soldier exclaimed.

“It smells vile,” another agreed.

Frigga opened her own containers and recoiled from the smell. It was a stew with vegetables and meat, but the spice was... what was that? She frowned as she tried to remember. “It's toxic, don't eat it,” she called out. “I know this herb. Not lethal, but you will get a severe stomach ache.”

A few of them mumbled their thanks, and Frigga placed the lids back on hers. It surprised her that they had included it in the cooking. Mortals would not be able to stomach the herb either.

The water would have to be enough, once it had cooled.

 

 


	18. Chapter 18

Farbauti's second attempt at negotiation went smoother. The Vanir, wary of anything else happening that could end up badly for them, had readily agreed to use communication devices. It meant more time on the ship for her, but Farbauti enjoyed the leverage it gave her – she had after all given them very reasonable terms to consider.

There was a murmur of greetings from the gathered. Too many men for her taste, but Vanir were different.

“You will pick a spokesperson among you,” she ordered, “preferably not a man.”

“Why not a man?” one of them asked.

“My society is a matriarchy,” Farbauti said, “while we have some men in leading positions they tend to have less important roles – like fighting. I expect a civil and constructive conversation and I expect actions to be taken. I do not expect men to be willing to put their egos aside and see to the greater good of their people.”

“That is simply ridiculous,” the man said in outrage.

“Do not insult her,” Sigyn hissed.

“Well then, I vote we pick _you_ , since you seem to know everything,” the man snapped.

The squabble that followed was predictable and boring. It made Loki's entrance via another channel pass them all by. She smiled at him, pleased to see him healthy and excited even if he had chosen to wear his Aesir skin. He had a green tunic on.

“Children, settle down,” Farbauti chided. “There is no need to prove my point.”

“What did I miss, mother?” Loki asked.

“I told them to pick a spokesperson. Are you going to wear that glamour all night?”

“It is how they know me,” Loki said with a small shrug.

With an eyeroll she took a cue from him and changed to appear as one of the pigs. She had donned a short dress to account to their delicate sensibilities, and her bare feet suddenly seemed tiny and delicate.

Sigyn had stepped forward. “I will act as spokesperson, Your Highness.”

“Excellent. Loki, if you would.”

She listened while he spoke their language, laying out the terms and explaining why. The Allspeak was useful, but not flawless, and they knew him. She saw it on their faces and in their body language.

 

 


	19. Chapter 19

****Sigyn rushed through the former royal palace, now home to the elected government. They had elected local leaders for years, even if they had held no power while under Aesir rule, and those had banded together to form the new government. She was part of it. Despite being a woman, unmarried and young. Then again, these were dire circumstances, and High Queen Farbauti of Jotunheim and Svartalfheim was merely a century older than her.

She quickened her steps at the reminder of the giantess and the retribution that had followed the attack... the _annihilation_ of the Realm Eternal.

“Your Highness,” she said as soon as she entered the chamber. Everyone else had been silent, she knew, because the High Queen did not listen to what men said. Sigyn was someone she acknowledged.

If Sigyn had hoped Loki would be present to smooth out differences in their cultures, then it was only natural. She found herself disappointed that he was not connected to them this time.

“What of the Aesir civilians you left here?”

“They belong to your species,” Farbauti said. She was not there in person, not after what had happened, but the elves and giants had gifted the new Vanir rulers top of the art communication devices. They had even given them books so that they could rebuild their old library.

“What of Alfheim, Your Highness? We do not want them here. You saw yourself what trouble the Aesir cause.”

“Alfheim is... going to be home to its native population.”

Sigyn frowned. “The trolls?”

“I see you are a well-educated youth.”

One of the older men cleared his throat. “Perhaps the Aesir could find a home in the Valley of Kings?”

The room broke out into startled laughter. Sigyn felt her own lips twitch.

“When will your troops leave, Your Highness?” she asked Farbauti.

“When we leave,” Farbauti cautioned, “you will be on your own.”

“Yes, we are aware, Your Highness,” Sigyn said. “You promised us independence, however.”

“I can have them pulled out in a weeks time.”

 

 


	20. Chapter 20

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OK, so some chapters are not very long and I will go back and fix that... I just wanted to push it all out and have it done with.

Frigga woke up to a scuffle in the cell opposite to hers. She brushed her damp hair out of her face and rose up. Two of the soldiers fought each other and the rest watched. The noise brought the mortal guards, but rather than attempting to break the fight up, they seemed to find it entertaining to watch.

“You lads want some lube?” one of the guards jeered.

The other guard laughed and went to a small room at the beginning of the corridor. To Frigga's disgust he had actually fetched some sort of oil. It was placed in the same contraption food was brought in via and a soldier took it.

She looked away while the man who had lost the fight was raped.

 

* * *

 

The lights never went out, and while the food was awful she sometimes ate it anyway. She slept poorly due to the lack of darkness, but more so from the noises the soldiers made as they fought and fucked and cursed.

Once Odin had yelled at the mortal guards to treat him as he deserved and to bring him better food. They had told him to shut up unless he wanted to be placed with the soldiers.

She read the books, poor quality as they were it was better entertainment than the cell opposite.

“Bath time!” the guards shouted merrily, banging metal objects together to get attention. “Line up by the bars. Put your arms through the bars.”

Frigga did as told, as did the soldiers. Odin refused, but the guards paid him no mind.

The guards brought a hose out and Frigga thought they must be joking, but they were not. Icy cold water was sprayed at them until the guards were satisfied they were all cleaner than before. They brought another hose to use on Odin, and Frigga was envious that he got hot water instead of freezing cold, though he did not seem to enjoy the bath any more than the rest of them had.

 

* * *

 

“They reek,” and elderly Frost Giant female complained.

Frigga got up from her bed and eyed the creature.

“Not much to be done for it,” one of the mortal guards shrugged. He walked the giant over to Odin's cell.

“I told Loki you let me go,” the old giant said, her hoarse voice sounded weak. “I did not have the heart to tell the boy what a little monster you are. He is too soft. However did you raise such a sweet child?”

“I was told you died!” Odin hissed at the giant.

“One of my better plans. Unfortunately for you Ice taught her son too well for you to escape this place as I escaped your prison.”

“Aren't your people supposed to love family above all else?” Odin taunted. “I am your son, release me!”

The old crone laughed and opened his cell. “Come then.”

Odin quickly scurried down the corridor, but the Frost Giant woman hit him from behind with a club. Odin stumbled, then fell.

Another two Frost Giants walked up to Odin and threw him into the same cell as the soldiers.

 

 


End file.
